LOUDOG POSTED:
what happens if the dealer messes up the deal? Lets say he is dealing it to one of the players and for some reason the card gets up-ended and we can see the card. This has happened about twice in the past few months when too much drinking starts. We usully let the person decide if he wants to keep his card or get a new one. I don't think this is proper procedure. Do any of you guys know?
REPLY:
Allowing the player the option of accepting the FLASHED card is a bad policy. First, there's a chance that the player looked at the first card, then gets to judge the seecond card based on its affiliation with the first. For instance, if your first card is an EIGHT and the next card is also an EIGHT but flashes, you will probably acccept the EIGHT (that would also pretty much tell your opponents you have two eights). There is also the problem of flashed cards in terms of severity -- that is, what if the flashed card is seen by onely one player at the table (this happens in casino games frequently, especially if you sit in the 1 or 9 seat).
The best policy is to decalre the exposed card DEAD. The card is turned face up on the table for all to see. Then, the round of dealing is completed where every player now has two cards. Next, the dealer deals one more card to the player and REPLACES the flashed card. The flashed card then becomes the BURN CARD. After an initial round of betting, the three card flop is revealed and the game continues.
If a card is exposed by the dealer (after the initial round of dealing) -- that is to say, a card in the deck flashes or is revealed early, the correct policy is to re-shuffle the cards together where all cards have an equal chance of being dealt out (on the turn and river). This way, no player gains and advantage and there are no questions about the ruling.
Penguiun's comment about the player having to play his two cards no matter what stems from the rule that all players must protect their hand. If the card is flashed because of player error, then he is forced to play the hand AS IS. This is occasionally a gray area, particularly when a dealer distributes the cards quickly and a card accidentally hits the hand of a player and rolls over. That's usually considered a dealer error and the card is replaced, but once the two cards are initially dealt, PLAYERS ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY for protecting their cards.
These are standard rules which make the game fair for everyone. Obviously, there are times when you are playing and a dealer exposes an ACE, which costs you a good card, but that is offset by the card being revealed to opponents, which diminishes the value of the ace (or other high card).
-- Nolan Dalla
